Tube-cleaning tool.



W. S; ELLIOTT.

TUBE CLEANING TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED mums, 1910.

Patented July 9, 1912.

INVENTOR bum M WITNESSES FFTQE.

WILLIAM S. ELLIOTT, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

TUBE-CLEANING TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July Q, 19-12.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. ELLIOTT, of Pittsburgh, Allegheny county,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Tube- Cleaning Tool, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken away of atube-cleaning tool embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of' thesame; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the head and cap members shown inseparated position; Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively plan' and end viewsshowing a modification of the invention; and Fig. 6 is a detail view.

Inmy application Serial No. 544,165 of even date herewith, I have shownand described, and broadly claimed, a tube-cleaning tool having aplurality of freely swinging tool-carrying arms, the pivots for said.

arms being arranged obliquely to the longitudinal axis-of the tool, andsaid arms being arranged to swing freely outward under the centrifugalforce of rotation to deliver a rapid succession of hammer-like blowsupon the scale or other material to be removed from the pipes or tubes.of the freely swingingarms is provided with a cutter wheel havinglongitudinally extending teeth or corrugations, this form of wheelhaving been found to be very effective in service when used with afreely swinging arm. In practice I have found the oblique arrangement ofthe pivots for the arms to be of great importance, for the reason thatby this arrangement, which causes the arms to move in oblique lines, theteeth of the cutting wheels, instead of being presented to the scale onthe interior of the tubes in lines parallel to the axis of the tubes,are caused to attack the scale at :1 angle, thereby preventing anytendency of the cutters to track, and making their action much moreeffective. In the specific form of tool shown and described in saidapplication, the freely swinging arms are mounted to swing in planeswhich are in general transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tool,although somewhat oblique to such axis.

In the form of tool herein shown and de- Each pivot pins for the freelyswinging arms and to obviate the use of rivets, olts, or otherfastenings of a kind difiioult to remove or which might work out ,ofplace in use.

In the drawings, the numeral 2 designates the head of the tool, which isprovided with a screw-threaded shank 3, or

other suitable means for'its attachment to.

the shaft of an actuating motor. The head is formed with a plurality (inthis case, four) equally distant, oblique, slots 4, to receive the innerends of the freely swinging cutter carrying arms 5. The slots 4, as willbe clearly seen from the drawings, are oblique to the longitudinal axisof the head, so as to cause the freely swinging arms to vibrate inplanes which are also oblique to the axis of the head and of the pipe ortube being cleaned. Each arm is secured in place.

by, and vibrates on, a pivot pin 6, which is inserted through an openingin the inner end of the arm, and is seated in perforations 7 inv theside walls of the slots 4, these side walls being formed by lugs.projecting from the central portion ofthe head. The pins are secured inplace and held against displacement by means of a cap member 8, whichis, arranged to he slipped loosely over the threaded shank 3, and hasfour triangular lugs orprojections 9 which are shaped to fit in theangles between the outer walls of the slot-forming lugs of the head. Thecap is secured in place by means of 'a nut 10 onthe threaded shank 3, orby any other suitable means which will permit the cap to be readilyremoved when necessary.

Each of the freely swinging arms is pro: vided at its forward end with alongitudinally tapered toothedcutter wheel 11, which is preferablymounted so as to rotate freely.

These cutters are j ournaled on pins or shafts 12 extendinglongitudinally through the arms, with heads 12 at their forward ends.They are held in place by the pivot pins 6, which engage recesses 12therein.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the slots 4 are soarranged as to bring the freely swinging arms into two converging pairs,as clearly seen in Fig. 2.

In the form shown in Figs. Land 5, the cor responding slots 44 are soarranged as to cause each arm to diverge from the adjacent arms, so thattheir forward ends, together with the cutter wheels 11 will begquzcillly spaced around the periphery of the In operation, the headwith the freely swinging arms is rapidly rotated within enabling them toexert a cross-cutting action, which efl'ectively prevents tracking andinsures the removal of all adhering scale.

As shown in the drawings, I prefer to make the arms of differentlengths. In the particular forms shown, two of the arms are shorter thanthe other two. They may, however, all be made the same length, or eacharm may be of a different length so as to cause the respective cuttersto work in difl'erent circular paths. I do not limit myself to, the useof any particular number of arms; and if desired, each arm may beprovided with a plurality of cutters instead of a single cutter. Byvmeans. of the cap member 8, the pivots for the arms are enabled to beloosely slipped into place, and then held against displacement, therebyobviating the use of rivets or bolts, and enabling any pivot to bequickly reached in case of breakage or injury to one or more of thearms. I do not, however, limit myself to the exact construction andarrangement of the pivot retaining or cap member which I have hereinshown and described, since obviQusly this will vary with the number andexact arrangement of the arms.

What I claim is l. A tube cleaner comprising a rotatable head having apluralltyof recesses therein,

keeper for all of the pivot pins, said keeper having portions whichengage the ends of said pins; substantially as described;

3. A tube cleaner comprising a rotatable head having a plurality ofslots therein open at both ends, a plurality of cutter carrying armspivoted in said recesses and having pivot pins seated in hearings in thewalls of said recesses, said head having angular recesses intermediateof said slots, and a keeper member having a plurality of projectionsarranged to fit said recesses and engage the ends of the pins;substantially as described.

4. A tube cleaner comprising a rotatabl cu tercarrying arms pivoted; insaid slots and having their pivot pins provided with bearings in thewalls of the slots, the head having angular recesses intermediate theslots, a keeper arranged to fit over the threaded shank and having aplurality of projections fitting the said recesses and engaging the endsof the pins, together with means for normally securing the keeperagainst longitudinal movement; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof,.I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM S. ELLIOTT.

Witnesses:

GEO. B. BLEMING, GEo. H. PARMELEE.

